Looking north up Yonge St, from south of Queen St, in the Downtown Yonge area of Toronto.
The left side of the archive photo shows the Robert Simpson department store in the foreground, with the F.W. Woolworth store visible in the curved building across Queen St W. On the right side of the vintage photo, Heintzman’s Pianos can be seen in the distance, and just in front of it, the sign for Lowe’s Yonge Street Theatre.
In more recent times, the Robert Simpson building housed Saks Fifth Avenue and The Bay, both of which have since closed. The curved building’s facade, unveiled in 2024, was reconstructed using replica bricks, stones, and terracotta pieces due to deterioration. It is now part of the Eaton Centre. The structure that once housed the piano store still stands today, as does the theatre, which is now known as the Elgin & Winter Garden Theatres.
Then and Now
SOURCE
- City of Toronto Heritage Register
- Heritage Toronto
- Ontario Heritage Trust
- Biographical Dictionary of Architects in Canada
- Zeidler Architecture: 2 Queen West (F.W. Woolworth, looking north up Yonge St from south of Queen St)
- Photo: Denise Marie for TorontoJourney416
- Vintage Photo: City of Toronto Archives
- City of Toronto: Maps
- Toronto City Directory, courtesy of Toronto Public Library
